Who, Me, A Patron Saint?

My sweet friend Mary at The Beautiful Gate has cast lots for a MEME and my name came up in her list of five bloggers to tag.

The rules of this MEME are as follows:

"Assuming you are a saint, and your cause has been executed, your miracles confirmed, your date on the calendar established, all that is required is to select that of which Holy Mother Church will name you Patron (ess) of.

For this meme, you must name your patronage
and then tag 5 other people who would like to play along.

Linking your answer to your nominator's post would make it easier to get your answers."

This all sounds a bit tricky because first of all, you have to be holy enough to make it to heaven and then you have to have done something meaningful enough in your life to inspire others to turn to you in prayer. Mary herself has thought that she would be made the patron saint of those suffering from depression and anxiety and knowing that she has already offered much prayer for me regarding those issues, I'm sure she would make a great patron saint for those who suffer from those afflictions.

I thought about all of the things that are near and dear to my heart like praying for priests and vocations, caring for my family, searching for sea glass, leading Marian Devotion in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee with Roses for Our Lady, making jelly, gathering with my sisters in prayer, writing this blog-there's so much to choose from and so many groups which already have a fabulous patron saint upon which I could never improve (thinking of St. John Vianney here as the patron of priests.) So here's my best shot...

Although the poor have a fabulous patron in St. Vincent de Paul, and a great champion in St. Lawrence whose feast is today, my life's work focuses on a particular section of the poor, that is, young mothers who live in poverty. For the past fifteen years I have spent my working days as a nutritionist for the WIC Program (Women, Infants and Children) where I counsel young mothers about nutritional care for themselves and their young children. I see women who suffer terribly from the effects of poverty and who struggle due to abusive relationships, a promiscuous society, lack of faith, mental and physical illness, drug abuse and so much more. They often wonder where the next meal will come from, they worry about what kinds of friends their children will associate with, they have so much to learn about basic health issues and parenting concerns.

For example, just yesterday I met a young mother of two children who had no place of her own to call home. She was living with friends but would have to move out shortly. I gave her a list of homeless shelters to contact but wished I could have taken her by the hand and led her to a home of her own. As she left my office with the list of shelters in her hand she said how she hated the very thought of staying at a homeless shelter and I assured her of my prayers. My words at the time felt so empty and useless but as I follow through with prayer for her I know that God will see to it that all of her needs are met and He will lovingly carry her through her struggles.

I also met with a pregnant mother who, at the age of 24, already has two lively toddlers and has suffered through a miscarriage and two abortions. Offering my words of sympathy for her losses feels so hollow, but I trust that God will comfort her and lead her to value the life growing within her and to bring that baby to a safe and healthy start in life.

I visit with mothers who are homeless, hungry, tired, overworked and stressed. I see mothers who work and are sorrowful about leaving their children in daycare and mothers who can't find work and aren't able to provide for their children and that causes sorrow as well. These mothers have a lot to worry about! But what carries them through each stressful day is always the great love that they have for their children and the desire to give them the very best life possible.

I can relate to so many of the women that I see each day. So many of their worries are my worries, too. I also fret about finances, the health, education and social lives of my children, and the burdens of caring for my family in a society that makes family life a low priority. I carry all of my stress to the Lord in prayer each day and I bring my clients to Him in my prayer as well. We are all in this difficult life of motherhood together!

So, I pray that the Lord finds me worthy enough of sainthood one day and if I am ever to enjoy the glories of heaven, I would spend that time praying in intercession for young mothers whose lives are weighed down by the burden of financial poverty and all of the problems that surround that particular lot in life. May the Lord grant me the grace of one day becoming the Patron Saint of young mothers who live in poverty.

The rules of this MEME require that after acknowledging the MEME source, (Mary) and having written about which group of people would turn to me for prayer upon my death, I must pass this MEME on to five other bloggers and they are:

Karen at Write 2 the Point
Colleen at Inadequate Disciple
Tiffany at Family at the Foot of the Cross
Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii
Patricia at I Want to See God (you'll want to slow down here and read Patricia's blog post "An Unpetalled Rose" it's gorgeous!